dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-35690

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In RGXDestroyHWRTData of rgxta3d.c, there is a possible arbitrary code execution due to an uncaught exception. This could lead to local escalation of privilege in the kernel with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A critical vulnerability exists in Imagination Technologies' PowerVR Rogue GPU driver (RGX) where the RGXDestroyHWRTData function in rgxta3d.c fails to catch an exception during hardware render target data destruction. This unhandled exception can be exploited for arbitrary code execution at kernel privilege level, enabling local privilege escalation without requiring user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2023-35690 which adds proper exception handling in the RGXDestroyHWRTData function. Given the kernel-level impact and critical severity, priority patching is essential.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm PowerVR Rogue GPU is present
    Check /proc/cpuinfo for 'Imagination Technologies' or examine /sys/class/kgsl/kgsl-3d0/gpu_model if available. PowerVR Rogue GPU is typically found in MediaTek and some other ARM-based SoCs.
    Affected if The device does not use a PowerVR Rogue GPU, then this specific CVE does not apply.
  2. Locate GPU driver files
    Search for RGX-related driver files in /vendor/lib/ (such as libIMGegl.so, libpvr*.so, or files containing 'rgx' in the filename). Also check /system/lib/ and /vendor/lib/hw/ for GPU driver libraries.
    Affected if No PowerVR RGX driver files are found on the device.
  3. Identify driver version
    Run 'cat /vendor/lib/modules/*/version' or use 'modinfo' on any loaded rgx kernel modules (typically named rgx.*.ko). For user-space drivers, check the file properties or metadata within the driver libraries.
    Affected if Unable to determine the PowerVR RGX driver version.
  4. Compare against patched version
    Contact Imagination Technologies or check the GPU driver release notes for CVE-2023-35690 fix version information. Compare your identified driver version against the fixed release.
    Affected if The installed driver version predates the CVE-2023-35690 patch and the device uses PowerVR Rogue GPU.
  5. Verify kernel-level exception handling exists
    If driver source or symbol information is accessible, inspect the RGXDestroyHWRTData function (typically in rgxta3d.c or its compiled binary) for proper try-catch exception handling around hardware render target destruction logic.
    Affected if The driver lacks proper exception handling in RGXDestroyHWRTData and uses an unpatched version.

A device is affected if it runs Google Android with an unpatched PowerVR Rogue GPU (RGX) driver that lacks proper exception handling in the RGXDestroyHWRTData function.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2023-35690 which adds proper exception handling in the RGXDestroyHWRTData function. Given the kernel-level impact and critical severity, priority patching is essential.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android device with November 2023 Android Security Bulletin or later applied (security patch level 2023-11-01 or later)

  1. 1. Check your device's current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
  2. 2. Identify the latest Android Security Bulletin from source.android.com that addresses CVE-2023-35690
  3. 3. If your device's security patch level is older than the bulletin containing the fix, check for system updates in Settings > System > Software Update
  4. 4. Apply any available system updates to receive the security patch containing the fix for this vulnerability
  5. 5. After updating, verify the Android security patch level reflects the fixed month/year in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
Caveat Some older devices may no longer receive monthly security updates; consider upgrading to a device with active security support

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-35690 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data